Daily Orthodox Scripture Devotional
- Daily Orthodox Scripture Devotional
Daily Orthodox Scripture Devotional
Wednesday, February 25, 2026 — Wednesday of the First Week of Great Lent
📅 Today’s Commemorations
Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete The Great Penitential Canon, composed by St. Andrew of Crete (c. 660–740), is one of the most profound hymns of repentance in the Orthodox Church. Chanted during the first week of Great Lent (Monday–Thursday), it calls every soul to compunction and return to God, drawing on hundreds of Old Testament figures as mirrors for personal sin and redemption. Its refrain — “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me” — echoes throughout this week.
St. Tarasius, Archbishop of Constantinople (806) Patriarch Tarasius convened the Seventh Ecumenical Council (Nicaea II, 787), which restored the veneration of holy icons after the Second Iconoclasm. He reposed in peace on February 25, 806, and is commemorated for his steadfast defense of Orthodoxy.
📖 Scripture Readings
All texts from the Orthodox Study Bible (Septuagint / New King James Version)
First Reading — Isaiah 2:3–11
3 Many Gentiles shall travel and say, “Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will proclaim His way to us, and we shall walk in it.” For the law of the Lord shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the Gentiles and rebuke many people. They shall beat their swords into plows and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
5 O now, house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord.
6 For He forsook His people, the house of Israel, for as from the beginning, their land is filled with divinations — like the land of foreigners — and many children of foreigners were born to them.
7 Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures. Their land is also filled with horses; there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is also filled with the abominations of their works, and they worship the works of their hands, which their fingers made.
9 A man bows down and each man humbles himself, but I will not forgive them.
10 Enter now into the rocks and hide in the earth from the face of the Lord, for fear and the glory of His might when He rises to smite the earth.
11 For the eyes of the Lord are lofty, and man is humble. The haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
Second Reading — Genesis 1:24–2:3
24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: the quadrupeds, the creeping things, and the wild animals of the earth according to their kind.” It was so.
25 So God made the wild animals of the earth according to their kind, the cattle according to their kind, and all the creeping things on earth according to their kind. God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of heaven, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that moves on the earth.”
27 So God made man; in the image of God He made him; male and female He made them.
28 Then God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of heaven, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
29 Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing herb that sows seed on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.
30 I also give every green plant as food for all the wild animals of the earth, for all the birds of heaven, and for everything that creeps on the earth in which is the breath of life.“ It was so.
31 Then God saw everything He had made, and indeed, it was very good. So evening and morning were the sixth day.
2:1 Thus heaven and earth and all their adornment were finished.
2 And on the seventh day God finished the works He made, and He rested on the seventh day from all the works He made.
3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His works God began to make.
Third Reading — Proverbs 2:1–22
1 My son, if you receive the words of my commandment And hide them within yourself,
2 Your ear will be obedient to wisdom, And you will incline your heart to understanding; You will entrust it to your son as an admonition.
3 For if he calls upon wisdom, And you utter your voice for understanding; If you seek perception with a strong voice,
4 If you seek her as silver And search for her as treasure,
5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord And find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom, And from His face come knowledge and understanding;
7 And He stores up salvation for the upright; He will protect their journey,
8 That He might guard the ways of His ordinances; And He will carefully guard the way of those who reverence Him.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and judgment, And accomplish successfully every good path for yourself.
10 For if wisdom comes into your mind, And the perception in your soul seems to be good,
11 Then good counsel will guard you, And holy thinking will keep you;
12 That it might rescue you from an evil way And from a man who speaks nothing trustworthy.
13 Woe to those who forsake the paths of uprightness So they may walk in the ways of darkness,
14 Who delight in evils And rejoice in evil perversion,
15 Whose ways are crooked And their paths devious,
16 So they may cause you to be far from the straight way And a stranger to righteous judgment.
17 My son, do not lay hold of evil counsel, Nor forsake the teaching of your youth And forget the divine covenant;
18 For it establishes its house with death, And its paths beside Hades with the dead;
19 All who journey there do not return, Nor do they lay hold of straight paths; For they do not comprehend the years of life.
20 For if they walked in good paths, They would find the smooth paths of righteousness.
21 The inhabitants of the land will be good, And the simple will be left in it;
22 For the upright will dwell in the land, And the holy will be left in it.
🕊️ Orthodox Study Bible Commentary
On Isaiah 2:3–4 — The Mountain of the Lord
The prophecy of the mountain of the Lord exalted above all mountains is a sweeping vision of the Church — the New Zion — drawing all nations to God through the Gospel. The Church Fathers understood the “mountain” as the Kingdom of God, exalted by the Resurrection of Christ and made visible through the spread of the Gospel to the Gentiles. St. Andrew of Crete, whose Great Canon we chant today, saw in Isaiah’s words the call to ascend this very mountain in penitence and longing. “The law shall go forth from Zion” — not the old law of Mount Sinai, but the New Law of love proclaimed from Jerusalem at Pentecost. The vision of swords beaten into plows points toward the eschatological peace that only Christ can bring, and which already begins in the hearts of the repentant.
The contrast in verses 5–11 is stark: Israel is called to “walk in the light of the Lord” yet has filled its land with idols, wealth, and pride. The Prophet warns that man’s haughtiness will be humbled — “the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.” During Great Lent, the Church echoes this warning to every soul: lay aside the idols of self-love and worldly pride, and let God alone be exalted in your heart.
On Genesis 1:26–31; 2:1–3 — The Image of God and the Sabbath Rest
The pronouns “Us” and “Our” in verse 26 — “Let Us make man in Our image” — reveal the Holy Trinity at work in creation. The Orthodox Study Bible notes: “These Persons are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit operating in complete unity out of the one divine Nature.” Man alone, of all creatures, is made in the image (eikon) of God — a theological foundation for human dignity and for the possibility of theosis, union with God.
The seventh day, on which God rested, is sanctified and blessed. In Orthodox theology, this rest does not imply fatigue but points to the divine goal of creation: rest in God, the eternal Sabbath. The Great Lent fast itself is a participation in this rhythm — a stripping away of excess so that the soul may find its rest in God. The whole of creation’s six days of labor leads to this: a holy stillness, a blessed day in which God declares His work very good.
On Proverbs 2:1–9 — Seeking Wisdom as Hidden Treasure
Solomon’s call to seek wisdom “as silver and search for her as treasure” resonates powerfully in this first week of the Great Fast. In Orthodox tradition, Wisdom (Sophia) is ultimately Christ Himself — the Word of God in whom “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). The father’s instruction to his son mirrors the Church’s instruction to her children throughout Lent: receive the commandments, incline your heart to understanding, and seek earnestly with your whole voice.
The promise is clear: “Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God” (v. 5). Holy Lent is precisely this search — a season of intensified prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that reorients the soul toward divine wisdom. Verses 11–12 offer the reward: “good counsel will guard you, and holy thinking will keep you” from the way of evil. The Fathers consistently taught that the one who persists in wisdom lives under divine protection; the one who abandons it walks toward the darkness of spiritual death.
🌿 Reflection for Today
We are four days into the Great Fast. The Church places these readings together with great intentionality on this Wednesday:
- Isaiah calls every people — Gentile and Jew alike — to ascend the mountain of the Lord and be remade. But he also warns that pride and self-worship are the very things that prevent the ascent.
- Genesis reminds us who we are: made in God’s image, created for a Sabbath rest that is communion with the Trinity. The fast is a return to that original dignity.
- Proverbs gives us the posture: seek wisdom humbly, as one searching for buried treasure. This is the disposition of the penitent — not passive, but ardent and earnest.
And over all of it, the voice of St. Andrew of Crete calls out:
“I have sinned more than any man. I have done evil before Thee alone. But have compassion on me, O Lord my Creator, and receive me as I repent.”
This is the Wednesday of the first week. The fast has only begun. Let the heart grow tender.
Daily Orthodox Scripture Devotional | Published to NOSTR Source: Orthodox Church in America (oca.org) lectionary | Orthodox Study Bible (Thomas Nelson) Feast: Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete | St. Tarasius of Constantinople
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